Not What He Seems
by Nellie Bachesneg
Summary: On Dec. 16, 2017, the YT channel Film Theory did a theory on Gravity Falls. This one-shot is based on that theory, albeit with a few of my own tweaks. The first chap. is the story, which I may flesh out if this gets popular, and the second is an explanation of the theory and why I accept it as headcannon. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Sixty degrees that come in threes.  
Watches from within birch trees.  
Saw his own dimension burn.  
Misses home and can't return.  
Says he's happy. He's a liar.  
Blame the arson for the fire.  
If he wants to shirk the blame,  
He'll have to invoke my name.  
One way to absolve his crime.  
A different form, a different time.

The Axolotl ~

* * *

Bill Cipher.

His home dimension destroyed, or maybe he was just banished.

It had been so long he couldn't quite remember.

All he knew was that he missed it, but couldn't go back. Instead he was stuck here, in the realm of nightmares. At first he hadn't really liked it – and really, who would – but as the millennia passed he found himself adjusting to the weirdness and the horror.

In other words, he slowly went insane.

The only relief he ever got was by projecting himself into the mindscape – a sort of in-between realm, where he could interact with the people of a different dimension without actually entering their reality. One might think to ask why he simply didn't avoid insanity by hiding out there, but the simple answer was that it was boring and lonely. He probably would have gone insane there too, but he chose to lose his sanity in the way that also let him make friends with interdimensional criminals and monsters.

One day - it really doesn't matter how or where - he happened to hear a prophecy. It was about an event that would allow the Nightmare Realm and another dimension, one with a place called "Gravity Falls", to collide.

Several millennia later, Bill came across a dimension with a little planet called Earth.

He forgot how he first arrived there, but as soon as he made contact with the newborn minds of the puny little meat sacks that called themselves humans, he knew that if anyone would be stupid enough to let the Nightmare Realm into their dimension, it would be those idiots. Not long after he encountered some time travelers, who confirmed his suspicions as well as gave him some very good insight into Earth's future.

Really, all he had to do was wait.

Just a few more millennia, and he would be free of the Nightmare Realm. He could assume a physical form and remake Earth and its universe into a home for himself.

Just a few more millennia…

A few more centuries…

Decades…

Years…

 _Days_ …

And he would finally be happy again.

…

It didn't go as planned.

He'd had three days – _a measly three days_ – of physical form and near-infinite power, yet he hadn't been able to get out of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Not only that, but he had been tricked into getting erased from existence before he'd really had the chance to do anything.

But as he'd been about to die, he called on his last resort.

The Axolotl.

It would likely sound strange, laughable even, to anyone in the time he was in.

But Bill knew better.

He knew the Axolotl would let him return.

So with his last few moments, Bill Cipher invoked the name of the Axolotl.

Then Stanly Pines punched him out of existence.

…

What Bill didn't take into account was the fact that he had committed a crime.

A very serious crime.

The Axolotl, however, knew this and knew it well.

He also knew that Bill expected to be reborn with a chance to get revenge.

The Axolotl wouldn't give him that chance.

No, instead Bill Cipher would pay for his crimes.

He would work for his forgiveness.

And there was only one way that the Axolotl felt was fitting.

…

Stanly and Stanford Pines were born and raised in New Jersey – but hey, you already know their story.

What you don't know is that their lives, difficult and lonely, were the punishment for something they both hadn't yet done and had already completed.

What you don't know is that they were two halves of the same whole, the physical separation of a broken mind.

What you don't know is that all of Stanford's intelligence was simply the remains of what was once omniscience.

What you don't know is that Stanly's greedy personality was the mark left by someone who had once desired the entire universe.

What you don't know is that Stan and Ford Pines were the reincarnation of Bill Cipher.

The Axolotl wanted Bill to feel the horror of what he'd done, as well as absolve his crimes.

What better way to do that than make him his own worst enemy?

Through Stan and Ford, Bill finally understood what it meant to be on the receiving end of his insanity. He finally knew what it was like to live in fear, not only for yourself but for the people you care about. He finally realized that his actions were evil and had to be stopped – so stop them he did.

In doing so, he finally found peace.

He had a family, a home.

He was happy.

…

The story of Gravity Falls is not just a story about Dipper and Mabel's wacky summer adventures.

It is the story of Bill Cipher, Stanly Pines, and Stanford Pines.

It is a story about evil and redemption – how a demon learned to love.

It is a story about being lost, and finding your way home.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok so Film Theory just did a thing on Gravity Falls (script written by the youtuber Inside a Mind) and oh my gosh did it open my eyes.

Basically, this is the theory: Bill Cipher, just as he was getting erased from Stan's mind, said a backwards message that invoked the "ancient power", apparently a cosmic axolotl, that he would return. In a book called Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure, that axolotl actually appeared, and Dipper asked said entity, "What do you know about Bill Cipher?" The axolotl then gives a long and vague poem that ends by saying that if Bill invokes his name, the axolotl will give Bill a "different form" in a "different time". Based on this evidence, the theory suggests that Bill didn't die when he was erased from Stan's mind – oh no. It isn't even as simple as that Bill will come back by taking over Stan. No, the theory suggests that _**BILL IS STANLY PINES**_.

At first I was like, "what?" then I was like, "huh…" and then I was , " _OH MY GOSH THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE IT'S SCARY_."

Let me explain.

So first off, given the axolotl's whole spiel (which is the poem at the beginning of the fic), it is definitely plausible. Human Stanly Pines is most certainly a different form than the triangle demon Bill Cipher, and Stanly was born several thousand millennia apart from Bill so that covers different time. As for overlap, just keep in mind that Bill is _billions_ of years old. I think it's just as likely for him to have been reborn as human while the demon incarnation of him was still running around, as it would be to be reborn at some later point. It's not an issue for me.

But what about actual evidence? Well, the thing they brought up in the theory was that Bill and Stan both bring up gold as something that should be sought for and desired. Stan: "[something about the apocalypse]…Bury your gold." Bill: "Reality is an illusion the universe is a hologram buy gold bye!" Honestly, this probably would have been enough to get me on board with the theory just on its own. That line is just so specific, it makes sense that those characters would be connected in some way.

But then – _but then_ – I started thinking deeper, about the characters themselves.

Consider this:

1\. Both Stan and Bill like making deals: Bill is self-explanatory, Stan worked in sales where his literal job was to make deals with people

2\. Both Stan and Bill are basically scam artists: Bill's deals always work toward his own agenda, Stan is self-explanatory

3\. Both waited a really long time to open a dimensional portal: Just… just think about that. Both Stan and Bill opened a portal to another dimension, and both did it mostly in secret, lying to anyone and everyone if it helped open the gate.

4\. Both are kind of overconfident jerks: Bill is self-explanatory, Stan… look, he cares about his family, and a lot of what he does is out of ignorance more than anything else, but he is at the very least insensitive, and he knows it. He also pretty much believes that he's always right.

There's other, more subtle evidence too. For example:

1\. Both do a finger-gun thing, and are really aware of the way the mindscape works. Watch Dreamscapers and Weirdmageddon Part 3 back to back and you'll see what I mean.

2\. Bill was defeated in Stanley's mindscape. Pretty much everyone expected that to mean that, once Stan got his memory back, Bill would reappear. But he didn't, because you can't reappear if you're already there, right?

3\. Stanly and Stanford are supposed to be identical twins, right? So why was Ford born with a weird mutation while Stanly was normal? I think that if Stanly was actually Bill reborn, well, that would make him weird, right? What if Ford got some, like, residual weirdness?

*In a narrator voice* _It was at this moment she realized the full implications of the theory._

 _ **OH MY GOSH WHAT IF BOTH STANLEY AND FORD ARE THE REINCARNATION OF BILL, AND HE WAS JUST SPLIT IN TWO!?**_

Ahem.

This is where I start to deviate from the original theory. To my knowledge no one has speculated about Ford's potential to be part of this theory, but here's my evidence:

1\. Stanly and Stanford are, as previously stated, presumably identical twins. Technically that is impossible, however, seeing as identical twins come from the same egg and therefore share identical DNA so both twins should have had six fingers, but if they really are the reincarnation of Bill Cipher, someone for whom impossible was something to do on a lazy Tuesday, it suddenly becomes not so improbable.

2\. Stanly and Stanford are like the two sides of the brain; Ford is like the left brain, all logic and calculating, while Stan is the right brain, creative and good with people (look at all those made-up creatures in the Mystery Shack and tell me Stan's not creative). As crazy as he was, it would not surprise me if Bill had some sort of mental disorder that further separated his mind, and I think that would have been represented by his reincarnation being split into two people.

3\. I find it interesting that both Ford and Stan have glasses - at least as far as it relates to this theory. Bill only had one eye; splitting that between two people couldn't have been an easy transition.

4\. Focusing on Ford now. Ok, intellect aside, Ford is also an overconfident jerk like Bill and his brother. Also, he got along with Bill remarkably well - Bill even offered him a spot with his Henchmaniacs. Third, both are weird. That's... that's it. What? Bill is a weird guy, it makes sense that at least one of the twins would have gotten a bit more than fifty percent of that trait.

All right, if you're still on board, if you at least think this is plausible from an evidential standpoint, then reread my fic and think about what this means for the _story_.

Because from a writing perspective, this theory is brilliant.

It brings _everything_ full circle, and that is really, really satisfying.

It also adds one more layer to the story we already know, building the world and deepening the plot.

As for Bill as a character? Someone stop me I might be in love with his mysterious backstory and redemption arc.

It's all so beautiful... I may actually have cried thinking about this theory.

In conclusion:

Headcannon.

So.

Freaking.

Accepted.

~Nellie Mona Bachesneg


End file.
